I'm not proud of it, but I have to admit I'm still rooting for Walt to some extent. I can objectively recognize that he's become (been?) a terrible person and deserves some punishment for that, but I still do a little internal fist pump every time one of his schemes comes off (like his video confession framing Hank).

As far as Skylar goes, I never hated her, but she was pretty unsympathetic in the first season or two. I re-watched the first season this summer, and Walt really was subtly (or not so subtly) emasculated and belittled in various aspects of his life at the start of all this, and Skylar was a part of that. I've grown more sympathetic to her, not because she's "fallen into line" and supports Walt to some extent now, but because we've seen her go through all of these really horrible situations and struggle to handle them as best she can. I don't know that Skylar was ever a particularly good person, but she certainly doesn't deserve all of the terrible things that have happened to her.

I can certainly agree with Anna Gunn that hating her as a person is bizarre and over the line.

Last edited by largegarlic on Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Kraftster wrote:Yeah, I was just talking the other day about the fact that there's perhaps no rooting interest with a particular character right now. I'm just sort of along for the ride. I think if anyone, I'm drawn towards rooting for Jesse. I find it very hard to support rooting for Walt. To be rooting for Walt at this point seems like either a really superficial view of the show/character or you have issues. I get that Walt/Heisenberg is a tremendous character, but so was Anton Chigurh -- that doesn't really justify rooting for them to continue to kill and terrorize (and rape in the instance of Walt).

Meh, it's television, not a real thing, so I can get people rooting for the anti-hero. So many great shows in the last 10 years have had these characters that do awful things (Tony Soprano, Vick Mackey, Don Draper, Jax Teller) but still have likable qualities. The writers set the show up so that people will root for the bad guy.

count2infinity wrote:The issue with Walt redeeming himself is that I don't think in his eyes he's done anything over the top wrong. He's justified his murders, he's come to terms with what has happened as a result of his work, he seemed complacent and ready to just move on with this life and his new fortune. Almost the exact opposite of Jesse.

Definitely agree. He has done everything, in his eyes, for his family. That's the greater good, so it's not wrong to him.

I still don't think he kills Jesse. I think he would, but only if it came down to protecting his family. However, I think someone else threatens/kills Jesse (Landry maybe?) and Walt does something, not necessarily to save Jesse but to save his family.

Gaucho wrote:True. I admittedly was somewhat rooting for Omar on The Wire.

Funny, I purposely left him off the list. I don't think of him as awful because he lived by the code of only harming those "in the game." But I can see how he fits the same mold. He is my favorite TV character.

I "root" (not exactly correct here) for Walt. Jesse is too much of a loose cannon. Let's not forget he shot a guy directly in the face, so it's not as if he's the moral compass everyone on the internet makes him out to be.

DontToewsMeBro wrote:I "root" (not exactly correct here) for Walt. Jesse is too much of a loose cannon. Let's not forget he shot a guy directly in the face, so it's not as if he's the moral compass everyone on the internet makes him out to be.

Yes but he at least feels regret for his actions and is affected by them. Walt ordered the shooting, had 10 people brutally murdered in prison, was indirectly responsible for a midair plane crash, just to name a few things, and has shown no emotional repercussions or regret from anything. I get why people root for Walt but this 5th season has really turned me against him.

BB is on Sunday nights around the time I'm preparing dinner. So while I've heard probably 3 1/2 season's worth of the show, I've only ever seen perhaps 3 1/2 minutes of it.

Just from a story perspective, there has to be some permanent corruption of Walt. There really isn't anything he's done so far that can't be walked away from (not morally, of course.... which I think is the whole point in having the cancer relapse). This corruption can be accomplished in a number of ways, but the one that I think is perhaps most interesting - given the way the character arcs have played out - would be for Skylar to end up 'breaking bad' herself. Yes, she's pretty well vested in The Business at this stage, but she hasn't really shown herself to be anything worse than a petty money grubber. What would really exhibit debasement - and therefore underscore the extent of Walt's evil - is if she did something not even Walt would do. Like...... kill a family member to protect the goods.

Ultimately, I think Walt meets his end at Jesse's hand. I just don't see how the character can pay off without dying.

cheesesteakwithegg wrote:I always thought that Jesse would make it until the end, but Vince Gilligan has never kept a character around just because they are popular. He kills them when he feels the need.

Don't forget, Jesse was supposed to be offed at the end of Season 1. He's definitely still around for a reason. (see above for my guess)

Jesse's around because he provides the perfect foil for Walt. Walt is single minded in his focus of what he needs to do to provide for his family and sees no problem with the wake of death he leaves behind. For Jesse, each person that is harmed is a scar on his psyche. I think Jesse will get to the point with his rage where he wants to kill Walt, but ultimately won't be able to.

I don't see Skylar going that route. Think it comes down to Walt or Jesse having to decide who wants to kill the other.

I have always liked Hank. He is like the cop version of so many people I meet on a daily basis. Great at their jobs no matter how many times they/he get doubted. Just struggles with roles outside his comfort zone including management and with the feds from previous seasons. He represents a lot of everyday folk.

I hate Skyler but also love the character. A pain from the get go, all whoa is me but always one to screw anyone over for herself. While a lot of it was reaction to Walts antics she still made all the wrong choices, even in between being genuinely concerned.